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Israeli missiles hit Gaza civilians

Israeli helicopters have attacked a Palestinian refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, apparently missing their targets but killing one bystander and injuring at least 26 others.

26 Aug 2003 16:16 GMT

Victim of helicopter attack is treated in al-Shifa hospital

Two Apache helicopters fired three missiles at a car in the Ibad al-Rahman district near the Jabaliyya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, reported Aljazeera correspondent Jivara al-Budairi.

But the Israelis appear to have missed their intended targets, two members of Hamas' military wing.

Wail Aqlan is reported to have been in the car with Khaled Masoud. The pair are reported to be responsible for building and firing Al-Qassam rockets Hamas regularly fires on Israeli targets.

Khaled's brother, Tito, was assassinated in an Apache attack on 11 June.

The other passengers in the car and the driver managed to escape.

However, a middle-aged man near the vehicle was killed in the missile strikes and around 26 other bystanders, including women and children, were injured - two seriously.

Air strikes

The airstrike comes two days after Israel killed four members of the Islamic group Hamas' military wing in Gaza.

Israeli helicopters fired at least three missiles at a crowded beachfront Monday evening, killing the four Hamas fighters and wounding more than a dozen bystanders.

Mourners carry the body of a Hamas fighter in Gaza yesterday

The latest Israeli attacks follow last week's bus bombing by a Hamas operative in west Jerusalem, which left around 20 dead and more than 120 wounded.

That bombing was in retaliation for earlier Israel killings of Palestinians despite a truce declared by the resistance groups on 29 June.

Jenin teenagers wounded

In a separate incident, three Palestinian teenagers were wounded, one seriously, after Israeli troops opened fire on Tuesday in the West Bank town of Jenin, AFP reported.

Israeli military sources confirmed that their forces had opened fire in the town but said that they had been targeted by Palestinian gunmen while a Molotov cocktail had also been lobbed at their positions.

Palestinian witnesses said that the Israelis had opened fire after youths had been throwing stones near the old part of the town. The town has been under curfew since the morning while occupation troops conducted house searches.

An Israeli army source told AFP that its forces had returned fire after coming under attack while protecting the Jewish settlement of Kadim on the outskirts of town as well as when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at soldiers in the centre of town.

Witnesses also said that Israeli troops had fired rubber-coated bullets and teargas after rocks were thrown at one of their positions just to the north of the West Bank town of Bethlehem, although there were no reports of injuries.